1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to printing method and apparatus for receiving data to be generated and for developing the received data into image data and for printing and outputting the image data.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, with the remarkable development of information processing techniques, various types of printing apparatuses which convert data into a visible image and record have been proposed. As a general printer among those printing apparatuses, there is a printer which has a pattern memory which develops pattern data in the pattern memory into an image memory on the basis of print data including a character code or the like which is sent from a higher-order apparatus, and which prints the pattern data.
In the above conventional printer, however, the print data which has once been stored in the printer is automatically printed at a time point when a new-page instruction, an image memory full state, or a data end has been generated. That is, the conventional printer doesn't have means for inhibiting the printing operation of the print data which is sent from the higher order apparatus. Therefore, the printing operation is executed, for instance, even in the case of a trouble shooting such as to check an interface between the higher-order apparatus and the printer or in the case where a practical printing operation such as an emulation of the printing operation in the higher-order apparatus or the like is unnecessary.
Consequently, there are inconveniences such that papers or various articles of consumption are used in vain and that if a paper conveyance jam has occurred upon execution of the printing operation, it takes surplus time to recover the jam, so that the working time is obstructed, and the like.